Let's Talk About...Bread

Ok. Why does bread have such a bad rap? Bread has been around since the beginning of time. Basically, flour and water, it is a staple in one form or another around the world. The centerpiece of any gathering, a symbol of community and hospitality, bread is a mainstay of every meal. Toast for breakfast, sandwiches at lunch and a good hunk of bread at dinner to wipe up your gravy.

At what point did bread become a bad thing?

Today bread is often considered a high carb, low fiber, low protein, low nutritional pack of calories. What happened? It used to be simply "bread." Honestly, if I want some protein, I will eat some chicken (https://www.lhvc.com/story/2023/08/30/entertainment/lets-talk-aboutchicken/8290.html).

I personally love bread. If I had to eat only three things for the rest of my life, bread would be one of them.

Of course, to counter the bad press bread has received over the years, bread has transformed into some "healthy" forms. Basically, "healthy" bread is a bread where you can readily see the constituents of all its parts.

You have your whole wheat, oat bran, seven grain, whole grain, multi-grain, seeds and nuts, sprouted, fruits, pumpernickel, rye, and of course that bane of bread, gluten-free bread. Then you have fancy names like Dutch Crunch or Millabrod or Farmhouse to grab your attention. And really, who doesn't like a croissant?

Bread was always a staple around our house growing up. With six children, my mom would buy six loaves of Wonder Bread at a time and freeze three of them. Yes, that much maligned white Wonder Bread helped get me and my siblings where we are today.

Every day she would pack our lunches with a bologna sandwich (with mustard only) or maybe tuna (in a squat thermos so it wouldn't go bad), or of course, that gooey mess of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on spongy, limp Wonder Bread. Except for the peanut butter and jelly (I like peanut butter and I like jelly, but just not together), I loved my sandwiches. We all survived.

Bread is a cultural phenomenon. Sheepherders apparently have their own bread. The whole City of San Francisco has its own bread. Cultures have their own varieties like pita, naan and tortillas. It's all basically benign water and flour. And delicious.

Does anyone remember that "brown bread" (https://www.thedailymeal.com/1328196/canned-bread-taste-flavor-explained/) my mom used to serve us as a treat that came out of a can? It was pretty tasty, but I doubt it was really bread.

Heck, Whole Foods has practically a quarter of the store devoted to fresh delicious bread. If it is so bad for you, why is it so popular? A quick Google search tells me there are at least 20 bakeries in our immediate area. And Wonder Bread is still in business. Someone is still buying this stuff.

The truth is bread brings people together. You break bread. You put bread on the table. Although people may not live by bread alone, they know on which side it is buttered and know the greatest thing since sliced bread is...well, any bread at all.